Sh791m NYS paid to ‘favoured’ suppliers

What you need to know:

  • The Public Service Commission chairperson, Prof Margaret Kobia, appeared to throw the ball back into Ms Waiguru’s court, saying the CS had powers to constitute a ministerial human resource advisory committee to determine the fate of the individuals involved after hearing their side.
  • The Saturday Nation was told that the Sh791 million was paid between December last year and April for the rehabilitation of the Kibera slums, which Ms Waiguru personally supervised.
  • The latest casualty is the former head of the Gilgil unit, Mr David Dicks Alunga, who was transferred after he allegedly refused to receive supplies from “favoured” suppliers.

Four companies linked to individuals with political connections received the bulk of the Sh791 million that Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru said was lost through the National Youth Service.

Most of the money was paid for works done in the upgrading of Nairobi’s Kibera slums, Saturday Nation investigations reveal.

Among the individuals are a nominated senator, the daughter of a senior politician in the ruling coalition, a brother of a consultant engaged to reform the youth service, a senior officer in the Devolution ministry and an ODM politician.

When she revealed the loss of the money, Ms Waiguru named 21 public officials she said were responsible for the fraud. She said she would forward their names to Public Service Commission for action.

But two weeks later, Saturday Nation has established that no action has been taken against the individuals.

The Public Service Commission chairperson, Prof Margaret Kobia, appeared to throw the ball back into Ms Waiguru’s court, saying the CS had powers to constitute a ministerial human resource advisory committee to determine the fate of the individuals involved after hearing their side.

The committee decision would be sent to the commission for action.

“The committee must make a decision within the stipulated time frame and inform the commission,” she said in a telephone interview.

However, Prof Kobia could not say what the stipulated time is. Our efforts to get Ms Waiguru to comment on whether the committee had been set up or not were fruitless. But sources at NYS and the ministry said the individuals had not been suspended.

The Saturday Nation was told that the Sh791 million was paid between December last year and April for the rehabilitation of the Kibera slums, which Ms Waiguru personally supervised.

The works included construction of roads, clinics, toilets, water points and unblocking of drainage, which was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The decision to pay, the Saturday Nation was further told, originated from the officers on the ground.

They included a road and site engineer, seconded to the project by the Ministry of Roads, as well as officials from Ms Waiguru’s office, who supervised the Kibera projects. None of these individuals are in the list of those recommended for prosecution.

Questions are also being asked about the fate of investigations in what Ms Waiguru said in June was an attempt to steal Sh800 million using the stolen Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis) passwords of the youth service deputy director, Mr Adan Harakhe.

Mr Harakhe was among the 21 officials recommended for prosecution. He was headhunted by Ms Waiguru and given the power to incur expenses in place of the director-general, Dr Nelson Githinji.

The narrative in June was that whoever tampered with the Ifmis and made the fraudulent payments stole the password from Mr Harakhe.

Some sources in the ministry said the password was never stolen as claimed but Mr Harakhe committed the funds with the approval of the ministry.

“Mr Harakhe was posted from the provincial administration and given those powers even before he was trained on Ifmis and his appointment formalised by the Cabinet Secretary.

He committed the funds only for them to turn around and claim the password was stolen. It’s a total lie”, one of the officials in the list of 21 told Saturday Nation.

The aim now, sources say, is to use the 21 suspects as fall guys who will be taken to court while the real culprits go scot-free.

The youth service came into the limelight after its annual budget was increased from Sh13 billion to Sh25 billion to implement State infrastructural projects.
Ms Waiguru has taken a keen interest in NYS with critics saying she is micro-managing it.

An official at her ministry who did not want to be named, defended her saying: “With such an allocation, a lot is expected from her in terms of delivery so there is nothing wrong in what she is doing.”

But critics say morale at the NYS is low following the replacement of several “analogue” officers.

The latest casualty is the former head of the Gilgil unit, Mr David Dicks Alunga, who was transferred after he allegedly refused to receive supplies from “favoured” suppliers.

He has been recommended for prosecution as he sat in one of the committees involved in the Sh780 million Kibera projects.